Amen! While the Constitution is a damned near perfect document written by imperfect men, the history of the US is rife with hate and discrimination. When people - mostly white - exclaim "This is not America!" I want to say "Where have you been?"
The uncomfortable truth is that every generation thinks injustice is an anomaly until history forces the pattern into focus again. It’s easier to believe we’ve somehow drifted off course than to admit the struggle for justice has always been the course itself. Maybe the real work isn’t defending an idealized past America, but deciding whether we finally want to become the country we keep insisting we already are.
Thank you for this column Qasim. Due to your articles I have stopped thinking about "this is not who we are" and started thinking "is this who we want to be?" I want to fulfill the promise of the Constitution saying that "all men (and women!) are created equal" We may not get there for awhile but we certainly strive to work towards that ideal. I hope that I can play my part in that endeavor.
Points well taken...think this goes back all the way to white men's arrogance thinking somehow they had rights on stolen land...when we get past this, reparations are long overdue
As you say, "understanding history is critical." Didn't know these specific dates, ... but know we must keep plodding along in our search for a "perfect union." We HAVE been progressing slowly, ... but progressing, realizing that our words do not match the actions of white supremacists, who would have us live in the 1800s.
America was built on the premise that white men are superior to all races (and women). Although progress has been made, this principle still holds true. Trump and his ilk have made it acceptable to say the quiet part out loud.
I have a similar gut reaction to "this is not who we are". Wake up. It is who we are. It isn't what we want it to be, and never has been, but we can always keep moving toward who we want to be.
There is a common thread, one could call it global, that laws, customs, beliefs and faiths are honored more by their breach than by their observance.
Humanity is universally perverse and adverse to instruction, direction, authority and written or oral pre and proscription. It is a trait shared by many animal species.
As such, it may be an essential component of evolution. Evolution is not always beneficial.
A lot did happen between WWII (when the Japanese encampments occurred) & Obama got elected (first non-white to become President). During that time we had made steady progress towards inclusion, equal rights & democracy for all & improving the living standards of Americans. We still had a long ways to go, especially regarding economic justice, but we were moving in the right direction. It is important to keep this in mind & not assume it's been a straight line from the beginning.
Tremendous disparity in wealth & power, which began emerging during the Reagan administration, accelerated by the fascism, bigotry, brutality & tyranny under Trump, has sharply reversed our course & set us back to where we were long ago, heading towards medieval-like serfdom for the vast majority of citizens. I don't appreciate it when people say we've always been terrible, or there's no difference between the left/Democrats & the right/Republicans. We must recognize sharp distinctions among policies & improvements & deteriorations in trends over time, or many people will feel resigned to accept our lot & believe it is futile to even try changing our system. We've done it before & we can do it again. We must do it again: put in what effort we can to overcome this tyranny & injustice & take ourselves to a much better place than we've ever been.
One of the biggest problems we have in this country is the lack of history education. I took AP US history in high school and still didn't learn the truth. I had no idea what the real history was and there was no internet back then to research it myself. Library books were often ancient or told the same lies.
There is no excuse today when the history of all of humanity is sitting right there in your phone. Luckily my daughter learned a bit more of the truth in high school. I still had to correct a lot of things she learned though.
Until we make serious changes in how history is taught, we're going to remain in this never ending white narcissistic patriarchy. I'm proud that Illinois now requires that black and lgbt history be taught in schools. But we can do even better than that. The uneducated masses are extremely easy to manipulate. History knowledge is a weapon.
Thank you for this piece. It's infuriating to see "this isn't my America." Yes. It is.
White people will always say: "There is no systemic racism in America". BS! Once again, when you read Qasim's articles, you learn real world facts. Horrible facts about horrible white people! Full disclosure: I am white! But I have never subscribed to ugly theories that People of Color were "less tha" or didn't belong. Thank you, Qasim, for educating us & giving us the facts!
People must walk around with blinders on if they think there is no systematic racism in the USA - or sexism for that matter. Imagine how much progress could be made if the energy used to deny reality could be used to fix the “isms”!
Amen! While the Constitution is a damned near perfect document written by imperfect men, the history of the US is rife with hate and discrimination. When people - mostly white - exclaim "This is not America!" I want to say "Where have you been?"
The uncomfortable truth is that every generation thinks injustice is an anomaly until history forces the pattern into focus again. It’s easier to believe we’ve somehow drifted off course than to admit the struggle for justice has always been the course itself. Maybe the real work isn’t defending an idealized past America, but deciding whether we finally want to become the country we keep insisting we already are.
Last sentence - no argument.
In writing about our dreadful chapters, our treatment of the original inhabitants must be included.
https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/michigan-tribal-boarding-school-report-sought-apology-instead-it-was-shelved/
The almost 300 hundred page report should be read!
Thank you for this column Qasim. Due to your articles I have stopped thinking about "this is not who we are" and started thinking "is this who we want to be?" I want to fulfill the promise of the Constitution saying that "all men (and women!) are created equal" We may not get there for awhile but we certainly strive to work towards that ideal. I hope that I can play my part in that endeavor.
Points well taken...think this goes back all the way to white men's arrogance thinking somehow they had rights on stolen land...when we get past this, reparations are long overdue
As you say, "understanding history is critical." Didn't know these specific dates, ... but know we must keep plodding along in our search for a "perfect union." We HAVE been progressing slowly, ... but progressing, realizing that our words do not match the actions of white supremacists, who would have us live in the 1800s.
America was built on the premise that white men are superior to all races (and women). Although progress has been made, this principle still holds true. Trump and his ilk have made it acceptable to say the quiet part out loud.
I have a similar gut reaction to "this is not who we are". Wake up. It is who we are. It isn't what we want it to be, and never has been, but we can always keep moving toward who we want to be.
Ramadan Mubarak Qasim
Thank you for another well written piece. (It isn’t better in Australia.) 💚🌺🇦🇺
There is a common thread, one could call it global, that laws, customs, beliefs and faiths are honored more by their breach than by their observance.
Humanity is universally perverse and adverse to instruction, direction, authority and written or oral pre and proscription. It is a trait shared by many animal species.
As such, it may be an essential component of evolution. Evolution is not always beneficial.
A lot did happen between WWII (when the Japanese encampments occurred) & Obama got elected (first non-white to become President). During that time we had made steady progress towards inclusion, equal rights & democracy for all & improving the living standards of Americans. We still had a long ways to go, especially regarding economic justice, but we were moving in the right direction. It is important to keep this in mind & not assume it's been a straight line from the beginning.
Tremendous disparity in wealth & power, which began emerging during the Reagan administration, accelerated by the fascism, bigotry, brutality & tyranny under Trump, has sharply reversed our course & set us back to where we were long ago, heading towards medieval-like serfdom for the vast majority of citizens. I don't appreciate it when people say we've always been terrible, or there's no difference between the left/Democrats & the right/Republicans. We must recognize sharp distinctions among policies & improvements & deteriorations in trends over time, or many people will feel resigned to accept our lot & believe it is futile to even try changing our system. We've done it before & we can do it again. We must do it again: put in what effort we can to overcome this tyranny & injustice & take ourselves to a much better place than we've ever been.
Thank you for the historical timeline of racism. So very important that young people know the truth.
One of the biggest problems we have in this country is the lack of history education. I took AP US history in high school and still didn't learn the truth. I had no idea what the real history was and there was no internet back then to research it myself. Library books were often ancient or told the same lies.
There is no excuse today when the history of all of humanity is sitting right there in your phone. Luckily my daughter learned a bit more of the truth in high school. I still had to correct a lot of things she learned though.
Until we make serious changes in how history is taught, we're going to remain in this never ending white narcissistic patriarchy. I'm proud that Illinois now requires that black and lgbt history be taught in schools. But we can do even better than that. The uneducated masses are extremely easy to manipulate. History knowledge is a weapon.
Thank you for this piece. It's infuriating to see "this isn't my America." Yes. It is.
So very true. I thought for years what a specious statement that is.
White people will always say: "There is no systemic racism in America". BS! Once again, when you read Qasim's articles, you learn real world facts. Horrible facts about horrible white people! Full disclosure: I am white! But I have never subscribed to ugly theories that People of Color were "less tha" or didn't belong. Thank you, Qasim, for educating us & giving us the facts!
People must walk around with blinders on if they think there is no systematic racism in the USA - or sexism for that matter. Imagine how much progress could be made if the energy used to deny reality could be used to fix the “isms”!
You are so right!